9,687 related texts · Page 17 of 202
“The iniquity of the daughter of my people exceeded the sin of Sodom, which was overthrown in a moment, and no hands seized it” (Lamentations 4:6).“The iniquity of the daughter of ...
From the very first moment of creation, God assigned every major figure in history a specific role. Esther Rabbah preserves a remarkable list, attributed to Rabbi Berekhya, that re...
And the two angels came to Sodom (Gen. 19:1). May it please our master to teach us the number of death penalties the Beth Din (the court of seventy-one members) was empowered to im...
And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them (Exod. 25:8). On which day did He relate to Moses the portion relating to the Temple? It was on the Day of Atonement. ...
Remember the story of Joseph, sold into slavery in Egypt? He rises through the ranks, becomes a powerful official, and then… his brothers, unknowingly, come to him seeking grain du...
The First Book of Maccabees, a historical text not included in the Hebrew Bible but considered canonical by some Christians, offers a powerful glimpse into this very question. It r...
To recap, the brothers have already journeyed to Egypt to buy food during a brutal famine, encountering the powerful and mysterious Egyptian viceroy– who is secretly their long-los...
The story of Joseph, sold into slavery by his own brothers, is a prime example. It's a painful tale, but rich with layers of meaning. The brothers, remember, are plotting Joseph's ...
The Jewish tradition has some fascinating stories about that, and one of the most intriguing is the tale of Asenath and Joseph. It's a story about beauty, prejudice, divine interve...
Even tales that seem straightforward often have shadowy corners, and the story of Asenath, Joseph's wife, is no exception. We all remember the story of Joseph. Sold into slavery in...
The story goes that after saying all he needed to say, Dan breathed his last. His sons, as was custom, placed him in a coffin and carried him to Hebron to be buried alongside his a...
They're…complicated, to say the least. : Cain and Abel, Ishmael and Isaac, Esau and Jacob, Joseph and his brothers. Talk about a mixed bag! So, when the Song of Songs (8:1) says, "...
Jewish tradition grapples with that idea in some pretty profound ways, and the story of Joseph and his brothers is a perfect example. We all know the story: Joseph, the favored son...
The Book of Numbers (Bamidbar) 31:6 tells us, "And Moses sent them, a thousand from each tribe, to the host, them and Pinchas." But the Sifrei Bamidbar, a collection of ancient rab...
When the final redemption comes, God will redeem Israel from one place only: Zion. Not from the desert, not from the waters, not from any place of exile — from the Temple Mount. "F...
We're diving into Genesis 44, where Joseph, now a powerful figure in Egypt, is testing his brothers. Remember the setup? Joseph’s brothers come to Egypt seeking food during a famin...
I was reading in Bereshit Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Genesis, and I stumbled across just such a moment. It revolves around a rather pointed exc...
It's one of those fascinating texts just outside the mainstream of the Hebrew Bible, referenced in the Bible itself (Joshua 10:13 and (2 Samuel 1:1)8), yet remaining somewhat myste...
Picking up where we left off, Jacob’s sons, finally convinced to bring their youngest brother Benjamin, journey back to Egypt. Can you imagine the tension? They're carrying gifts, ...
Today, we’re diving into Chapter 59, a chapter that, on the surface, seems like a simple list of names, but it’s so much more than that. It's a powerful reminder of family, legacy,...
The story, as told in Ginzberg's Legends of the Jews, begins with Judah. After the sale of Joseph into slavery, Judah's brothers urged him to take a wife, reasoning that their fath...
The story of Joseph, or Yosef as he's known in Hebrew, is a timeless tale of jealousy, brotherhood, and ultimately, redemption. And it begins with a terrifying moment. Imagine the ...
That’s kind of where we find Mirod, Pharaoh’s chief butler, in this story from Legends of the Jews (Ginzberg). Pharaoh, is in a right state. He's had these terrifying dreams (we'll...
So ends one era, and another begins. But let's turn our attention to Joseph, the dreamer, the provider, the once-lost brother. Can you imagine the emotions swirling within him as h...
Joseph, the dreamer, the interpreter of dreams, the viceroy of Egypt… he died younger than he should have. The Sefer ha-Yashar attributes his early demise to a seemingly minor infr...
One such story, expanded upon in Ginzberg's Legends of the Jews, concerns Asenath, Joseph's wife. Remember the dramatic reunion of Joseph and his brothers? It turns out there was m...
to the story of Zebulun, one of the twelve sons of Jacob, and see how his compassion became his legacy. He’s not always the first name that comes to mind when we think of the tribe...
According to the Legends of the Jews, as retold by Rabbi Louis Ginzberg, Moses chose his servant Joshua to lead the charge. Why? Because Moses knew that only a descendant of Rachel...
That was Joseph. We all know the story: Joseph, the favored son, sold into slavery, who rises through the ranks in Egypt. But have you ever stopped to consider just how remarkable ...
Our Sages noticed it too. They saw these juxtapositions as opportunities. Opportunities to dig deeper and find hidden connections. Let's look at a fascinating example from Sifrei B...
Check out this little head-scratcher from Sifrei Devarim, a collection of legal interpretations on the Book of Deuteronomy. It revolves around Reuven, Jacob's eldest son, and a som...
It seems like a simple question, but the answer, like so many things in Jewish tradition, is layered with meaning. The Sifrei Devarim, an ancient commentary on the Book of Deuteron...
We all have. But did you know that, according to some interpretations, leaving a mitzvah – a good deed or commandment – unfinished can have serious consequences? Rabbi Yehuda bar S...
The ancient rabbis certainly did. They saw God's hand even in moments of anger, betrayal, and… well, poisoned drinks. to a fascinating passage from Bereshit Rabbah, a classic rabbi...
The story starts with a quote from (Genesis 49:5): "Simeon and Levi are brothers; weapons of villainy are their heritage." But what does it really mean? Bereshit Rabbah, an ancient...
And Jacob sat in the land (Gen. 37:1). Whenever Scripture uses the expression and he sat (also translated “and he dwelt”), it connotes misfortune: And Israel sat in the land of Egy...
Jacob said unto his sons: “Why do ye look one upon another?” (Gen. 42:1). Jacob told his sons: Since you are strong and handsome, do not enter through one gate, nor stand together ...
And he sent Judah before him (Gen. 46:28). Scripture states elsewhere in reference to this verse: The envy also of Ephraim shall depart … Ephraim shall not envy Judah (Isa. 11:13)....
And he sent Judah before him (Gen. 46:28). Jacob sent Judah before him to establish an academy wherein he might teach the Torah as he had previously done for the tribes. You know t...
It’s a story of inheritance, of boundaries, and of the ancient world taking shape. The Book of Jubilees, sometimes called Lesser Genesis, isn't afraid to get specific. It paints a ...
Pharaoh, the most powerful man in the land, is understandably worried. He needs a solution, and fast. The text says, "let Pharaoh appoint overseers in all the land of Egypt, and le...
We jump into the story already in progress. Jacob's sons have just returned from Egypt, where they went to buy grain. Remember, there was a famine in the land. But things didn't go...
That’s where Jacob found himself when he heard the news – unbelievable news – that his beloved son, Joseph, was not only alive but thriving in Egypt. Can you imagine the scene? His...
There's a whole world of fascinating texts out there, bubbling with stories and details that expand on the familiar narratives. Today, let's peek into one of them: the Book of Jubi...
This wasn't just a fleeting moment of goodwill; the Book of Jubilees specifies that this harmony lasted for "ten weeks of years" – seventy years in total – all the days of Joseph's...
It comes from the Book of Jubilees, specifically chapter 46. The Book of Jubilees, for those who aren't familiar, is an ancient Jewish text that retells the stories of Genesis and ...
The Book of Jubilees, a fascinating Jewish text from around the 2nd century BCE, gives us a peek behind that curtain. It’s like a director's cut of the Torah, filling in details an...
We all know about the plagues, the parting of the Red Sea, and the giving of the Ten Commandments. But what about the details that fill in the cracks, the "behind-the-scenes" momen...
